January 2003 (Vol. XVI, Vol. 1)

A BLESSED NEW YEAR, dear friends, as we enter our sixteenth year of radiating SILENCE out to the world. In these troubling times, may the depth of our silence be a PRAYER FOR PEACE over all the Earth. Each prayer is a seed planted with hope.

Prayer is participation

I think that prayer is participation; it is the spirit of life praying in you, and when you connect with that, your deepest longing connects with the longings of the universe unfolding. You know, prayer can come out in a form of deep longing or concern for a person or for a situation in the world, or for someone who has died, or for my own health.Yet, it is a deeper longing than anything the ego wants.
~ by Danny Martin in "Sacred Journey" -- April 1998
Danny Martin Sacred Journey prayer

How does a heart touched by God pray?

Prayer is a response to God and to live coming from a heart that has been touched. How does a heart touched by God pray? Sometimes in pure gratitude it simply stands in awe rejoicing. And that is prayer! Sometimes it weeps. Sometimes it sings. At times it talks tenderly to God. At other times it might scream out in anger and pain. Sometimes it looks on the world with love, or rushes out to do good deeds. Sometimes it kneels without-stretched arms. Sometimes it merely yearns for God in deep, holy silence. All this is prayer.
~ from A TREE FULL OF ANGELS by M. Weiderkehr
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Prayer is the most potent instrument of action

Properly understood and applied, prayer is the most potent instrument of action. 

~ by Gandhi
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The wish to pray

The wish to pray is prayer.

~ by G. Bernanos
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The seed of prayer

The seed of prayer is sown in heaven.
It pushes its stem toward the earth
and comes to grow there.
It produces an abundance of fruit.
Then, as it becomes seed once more,
it thruts its way back to heaven.

~ by J. Yagi
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Rend your mind deaf and dumb

Strive to render your mind deaf and dumb at the time of prayer, and then, you will be able to pray.
~ by Evagrius of Pontus
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As we grow in the way of prayer

As we grow in the way of prayer, we begin to know that true prayer is an aware openness to the working of Love, that we may play our part in transmitting the divine love to all whom we meet in the daily round. Prayer is universal in scope, for God has no favorites. The way of communicative silence is the most effective way of knowing God and serving our brothers and sisters... I have little doubt that we will appreciate the silence when the body is dead and the soul passes forth into new surroundings for fresh adventures.

~ from DARK VICTORY by Martin Israel
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Prayer is always true to itself

Even when we bring the most difficult situations into prayer, the pain and resistance are in the situations, not in the prayer itself, as prayer is always true to itself. It discloses its own nature — that of a door a passageway to the Great Life of God. Prayer does not hold dismay, even though whatever we pray about may, for prayer move us off the place where we find ourselves and ushers us along — closer, at least — to the place we long to be.

~ by Margaret Stortz
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Prayer becomes a connection to those we do not know

Prayer becomes a connection to those we do not know. As we intervene for people all over the world, we become mysteriously linked with them. So, when we enter the sacred space of prayer, a crowded, jostling, colorful procession accompanies us.

~ from "Thresholds to Prayer" on the Web

Prayer is our instinctive response

PRAYER is our instinctive response to the immediate experience of the OTHER within, a phenomenon arising from our compelling need to relate to this being who seeks us out, forgives, accepts, and offers love.
~ by John Yungblut
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Prayer is anything you think, say, do, or feel that opens you up and out to love

Prayer is action you take in order to realize yourself fully with your neighbor and with God. It is the fulfillment of the great commandment to love God and neighbor. It opens the gate to heaven; heaven is the complete recognition of your potential to be who you really are, uniting you in pain and joy with God and with the whole world. Embracing your own alienation and brokenness with honesty and openness is the foundation of prayer; prayer can be choked off by self-will. Prayer is anything you think, say, do, or feel that opens you up and out to love.

~ by Jeffery Burton Russell
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Prayer is necessary for the life of the spirit

Prayer and meditation are as necessary for the life of the spirit as fresh air, food, and sunlight are for the body. If we think of prayer as talking to God, with or without words, our own or those of others, then we can think of meditation as listening to God — an attitude of open, silent receptiveness.

~ from SEEDS OF GRACE by S. Molly Monahan
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Prayer is the process through which our soul connects with the Divine

Prayer is the process through which our soul connects with the Divine, with all that transcends our being. It enables us to converse with things invisible, forming connections that at times defy the rational but often calm the spirit. It can be the language that tickles and soothes, itches and scratches, touches ever so gently the soft spots deep within. Prayer, like words or even complicated mathematical formula, is a language to be mastered. And in doing so, we open gates that are usually closed and often locked.
~ from THE DANCE OF THE DOLPHIN by Karyn D. Kedar
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I speak of prayer, not words

Prayer gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, too deep for words.

~ by S. John Chrysostom
S. John Chrysostom prayer

Beloved you love us and call us by name

Beloved, You love us and call us by name.
Awaken in us the desire to know
your presence in our hearts.
Fill us with you Spirit of Truth
opening us to your Love
enabling us to trust in your Word.
Strengthen our faith so that each day
our lives may radiate the Love
and the Light of your Life in us.

Amen.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous prayer

Prayer is to the human heart

Prayer is the human heart
what breath is to the body.

~ by Tessa Bielecki
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What appears to be indigestible can become real nourishment for prayer

At times God seems to give us stones impossible to digest. In these moments think of the pearl oyster: it retains the accidental grain of sand within itself for a long time, constantly bathing in it with its secretions. In due time a magnificent pearl is created. In like manner the animosities and antipathies that make their way into our hearts are seemingly indigestible pebbles. However, if we keep them wrapped in prayer, they will become pearls of love. Prayer provokes this miracle of love. Indeed, what appears to be indigestible can become real nourishment for prayer.

~ from AWAKENING TO PRAYER by A. I. Okumura
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November 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 10)

DEEP BLESSINGS, dear friends! Let us dare to believe that each time we offer the gift of ourselves in silnce and prayer, we interconnet with untold others around the world: individual hearts untied as One with Divine Universal Love -- saving Grace for the Earth. In the Silence, may we bless one another each day with gentle joy and abiding peace ... silent loving service in action.

Silence is the cornerstone of character

The first Americans believe profoundly in silence — the sign of perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. Those who preserve their selfhood are ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence — not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree. If you ask, "What is silence?" They will answer, "It is the Great Mystery! The holy silence is Great spirit's voice!" If you ask, "What are the fruits of silence?"" you would be told, "They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity, and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character."

~ O. Eastman in TOUCH THE EARTH by T. C. McLuhan
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The fruit of silence

The fruit of silence is known only to those with experience. There is gradually born within us in and of our silence itself, something that will draw us on to still greater silence. God leads us into solitude to speak to our heart. Let our hearts be a living altar from which there constantly ascends before God pure prayer, with which all our acts should be imbued.

~ from LISTENING TO SILENCE, comp. by R. B. Lockhart
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Drinking the silence

Were You not to grant me the grace
during the night-watchers
of drinking the silence,
of diving into it,
of being soaked in it,
How should I know
that inner silence,
without which
one can hear
neither others
nor You?

~ by Dom Helder Camera
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Silence is the soul's break for freedom

We are each surrounded by an enormous silence that can be a blessing and a help to us, a silence in which the skein of reality is knitted and unraveled to be knit again, in which the perspective of work can be enlarged and enriched. Silence is like a cradle holding our endeavors and our will; a silent spaciousness sustains us in our work and at the same time connects us to larger worlds that, in the busyness of our daily struggle to achieve, we have not yet investigated. Silence is the soul's break for freedom.

~ from CROSSING THE UNKNOWN SEA by David Whyte
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God is a friend of silence

We need silence to be able to touch souls. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. God is a friend of silence. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God will say through us.

~ by Mother Teresa
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Silence is a primal language

Silence brings us far beyond soundlessness, it quiets our senses and spirit and tunes our heart for a deep and delicate listening. For, silence is a primal language which speaks and listens from the heart. It is not the only language through which we communicate with God, but it is a necessary second language since the knowledge of God is received in divine silence. Like all other languages, silence is easily forgotten without practice and discipline.

~ from "Silence as a Second Language"" by Joel Giallanza thanks to Bob Hope
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In all the world is only what one heart says to another in silent greeting

Dear friend, do you not see
That whatever we look upon here
Is but reflection, merely a shadow,
Of what is invisible to our earthly eyes?

Dear friend, do you not know
That the jarring noises of the world
Are but an echo distorted
Of triumphant harmonies?

Dear friend, do you not sense
That in all the world is only
What one heart says to another
In silent greeting?

~ by Vladimir Soloviev
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To be able to enter daily into the silence

To be able to enter daily into the silence
without worries, fears, doubts,
without plans of any sort,
to say no more than, "I AM HERE"
and to feel it so,
simply and truly — is an act of faith,
an exercise in openness, attentiveness, devotion.
It will shape your soul to meet
the Friend of your heart.

~ from FRIEND OF MY HEART by Claire Blatchford
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Too great for our hearts to speak

There are billows far out on the ocean
that never break on the beach.
There are thoughts in the temple of silence
too great for our hearts to speak. 

~ by Paramahansa Yogananda thanks to Richard Siebels
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The pure objective awareness of being

SILENCE, the pure objective awareness of being, is our "way without words." It opens us up to our deepest spiritual awareness. Silence is fertile soil. What we receive from this rich ground depends on what we put into it... seeds that we ourselves plant in our inmost silence. People who remain unconscious about their own spiritual life seem like irresponsible farmers: they devalue the land entrusted to their care.

~ from A WAY WITHOUT WORDS by Marsha Sinetar
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In the quietness of the soul the individual sinks into the central fire of communion

Silence before God has deep significance: in the quietness of the soul the individual sinks into the central fire of communion... In the silent act of breathing and in the unspoken dialogue of the soul with God, solitary as these are, deep communion can be given.

~ by Eberhard Arnold
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The essence of silence is self-emptiness

The essence of silence is self-emptiness, docility, receptivity, detachment, desire, listening, communion. Every act of silence is a little Advent. A Luigi Giussaní sums it up, "Silence is not merely keeping quiet, but it is the attitude of one who lives standing before a 'You' who is presenting, entreating a 'you' who is present." Teresa of Avila refers to contemplative prayer as the "prayer of quiet." Such prayerful silence enhances our ability and eagerness to listen to our Beloved. In this silence, the one in love remains perfectly content just to behold the Beloved, gazing in a state of holy and tranquil abiding. Silence speaks to silence.

~ by Peter John Cameron
Peter John Cameron silence

Silence blossoms

May your silence be in
holy communion with the
Indwelling Guest
of your heart...
Silence blossoms in prayer.

 

~ by Raimon Panikkar
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SILENCE was the first prayer I learned to trust

SILENCE was the first prayer I learned to trust when I began my visits to San Damiano. Only later did I begin to let the words in. The silence of the chapel at prayer was broken only by a habit of praise that I came to see was so primal it was not only human. It was — or it mimicked exactly — the essential utterance of existence. It rose from the raw passion which rules life, an urge which has no voice but craves articulation. This communal prayer voiced a harmony otherwise elusive in all of creation, yet thrumming in the monastic silence.

~ from VIRGIN TIME by Patricia Hampl
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October 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 9)

PEACE BE WITH YOU, dear friends! Peace is the fruit of forgiveness, integrity, and compassion ... Peace opens the door to wisdom, mystery, life ... In the Silence, may each of us create a peaceful heart: a peace-energy to be refleted in the world for our healing ... a peace crucial for the survival of Earth and all her creatures. all upon the Angel of Peace in your thoughts, words and activities. You will be guided and blessed.

The first peace

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great spirit, and that this center is really everywhere; it is within each of us.

~ by Black Elk
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Become that very peace

While we may forsee the OUTWARD APPEARANCE of peace upon a people or nation, it is the UNDERLYING THINKING that must change to create a true and lasting peace. To change the conditions of our outer world, we are invited to ACTUALLY BECOME the conditions of our desire from within. When we do so, the new conditions of health or peace are mirrored in the world around us. To bring Peace to those whom we love in this world, we must first BECOME that very peace in our thoughts, feelings, and bodies.

~ from THE ISAIAH EFFECT by Gregg Braden
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When we see the face of God in everyone

We see the face of God daily, easily recognizable in a spectacular sunset or in a child's smile. And it also exists in less attractive presentations. Can we accept seeing God in the person of our "enemy"? If we can't, we are doomed to propagating lives of hatred and revenge. Only when we see the face of God in everyone and in all things will we be at peace within ourselves and, more importantly, enable peace to exist throughout the world.

~ from GODS'S IMAGE by Ron Vernan
Ron Vernan God's Image peace

Only when I am reconciled with myself

Only when I am reconciled with myself can I think about reconciling other people around me, who are at odds with me or with others. Reconciliation means peacemaking, clearing the way for the different parties, building a bridge between quarreling groups. But it does not mean smoothing everything over, making everything harmonious. Different points of view must remain. Reconciliation means taking the other person or group seriously, and also taking myself and my needs seriously.

~ from ANGELS OF GRACE by Anselm Gruen
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The most profound danger to the world

The most profound danger to world peace in the coming years will stem not from the irrational acts of states or individuals, but from the legitimate demands and needs of the world's dispossessed.

~ from NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM
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Peace depends on slowness

I crave peace. Peace depends on a slowness. Peace depends onacceptance of other people's processes and perception of truth. Peace depends on reverence and awe for this incredible blue/green planet we have somehow lucked into. Peace depends on a faith that there really isSomething Larger going on here, and that rushing and anger areirrelevant to that larger process, what ever it, or It, may be. I amslowly beginning to live this peace, but in so many ways, I am a slow learner.

~ Rod McIver, editor of "Heron Dance"
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The holy ground from which a peaceful world grows

Patient prayer is the holy ground from which our dreams for a just and peaceful worldbegin to grow.

~ by Joseph Nassal
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Peace is not made through theory.

Peace is not made through theory.
Too many people die in war.
This grief, this pain
can still be felt.
No matter how loud one cries,
this way no peace can be achieved.
The flowers of the meadow,
the small insects have life.
Each life has to be respected;
Where else should peace come from?

~ from "Hymn of Life" by Hozumi
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Every word that has been spoken about peace and love will be recognized like a bright light

Then Silence
will gather all the words
within itself,
the graves will return
in the ocean of eternity.

And every word
that has been spoken
about peace and love
will be recognized
like a bright light
by that spirit
that has come to rest.

~ from "A Call to Silence Foundation" Marcel Messing
Marcel Messing A Call To Silence Foundation peace

Peace is a longing that connects the human family in a common depth of soul

PEACE is very meaning of the word Islam. When its three operative consonants, S, L, and M, are combined with a variety of vowels, they spell "peace" across the whole spectrum of human speech. SALEM is the word for peace in English. SHALOM means peace in Hebrew, while SALAAH is peace in Arabic. (In the native language of Gandhi, the word for peace is SHANTI). Peace is a longing that connects the human family in a common depth of soul. The hope for peace surges in the collective unconscious. It is for the generations now living to bring this hope to consciousness and build the structures that will give it operative vitality.

~ from SERVANTHOOD by Bennett J. Sims
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Let Peace fill our heart, our world, our universe

Lead me from death to Life, from falsehood to Truth.
Lead me from despair to Hope, from fear to Trust.
Lead me from hate to Love, from war to Peace ...
Let Peace fill our heart, our world, our universe ...

~ from WORLD PEACE PRAYER by Fellowship of Reconciliation
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The Peace of God resides deep within each individual

The Peace of God resides deep within each individual, given to each spiritual being at its creation, to remain in their inner consciousness structure forever. No one can give it to you, no one can take it away. If you have not done so already, please give yourself the priceless gift of inner silence, That silence is the way that the very atoms of energy and love that surround you and are part of God can enter and give you the inner peace that you hunger for with all of your heart and mind.

~ from THE GOLDEN PATH by Ruth Ryden
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If we have no peace

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten: we belong to one another.

~ by Mother Teresa
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Peace dwells in the heart of silence

PEACE dwells in the heart of silence.
Listen. Heed the Voice of Peace ...
Radiate the Peace engendered by Love!

~ Anonymous
Anonymous peace

Peacemakekers recognize their faults

Peacemakers are called the children of God, because that is precisely what they are: the conscious offspring of the creator. Peacemakers are men and women who have adventured down the avenues of healing and caught the current of their divine identity. Peacemakers have internalized the seven steps to wholeness outlined in the Beatitudes:

They recognize their faults and long for what they need to change; they are gentle, unpretentious and nonviolent; they pursue right livelihood and have compassion for others; their motivation is pure as they offer unconditional love to all.

~ from TERRA CHRISTA by Ken Carey
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September 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 8)

EVERY GOOD WISH, dear friends! Our world cries out for our Work to beome prayer and love made visible. May we listen attentively in the silence for clear, creative guidance of how we can most life-givingly offer our selves in Service. And, as you work, may your grain of sand become a beautiful pearl.

To bless the marketplace with a contemplative presence

It is not an easy task, but a most rewarding one, to bless the marketplace with a contemplative presence. It seems to me that the life of work and prayer is not only possible, but greatly enhanced by standing firm in the real world with one's being anchored solidly in the Ultimate Reality. It is the harmony of the universe that echoes in the heart of the "new monk" who works and prays, lives and loves, re-creates and recreates in the center of the present world. The mystical monastery is the whole of society; the marketplace is one of its cloisters. The Holy Rule of the New Monk is the solid perspective of the spiritual practice embraced.

~ by Theresa Mancuso in "A New Monastic Life"
Theresa Mancuso A New Monastic Life work

The changing of work into play

The changing of work into play is effected as a consequence of the presence of a "zone of perpetual silence," where one draws from a sort of secret and intimate respiration, whose sweetness and freshness accomplishes the anointing of work and transforms it into play. For the "zone of silence" not only dignifies the soul at rest; there is contact with the heavenly or spiritual world, which works together with the soul. Those who find silence in the solitude of meditation without effort are never alone.

~ Anonymous
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We work to give value to time

We work not only to produce ...
we work to give value to time.

~ by Eugene Delacroix
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Work is not your enemy

Work is not your enemy but your friend. How you work, not what you do, determines the course of your life. You may work grudgingly or you may work gratefully; you may work as a human or you may work as a robot. There is no work so rude that you may not exalt in it; no work so demeaning that you cannot breathe soul into it; no work so dull that you may not enliven it. Never be tempted to diminish your efforts; always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.

~ from THE GREATEST SUCCESS IN THE WORLD by Og Mandino
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How terribly the rice suffers under the pestle!

How terribly the rice suffers under the pestle!
But it emerges polished, as white as cotton.
The same process tempers the human spirit:
Hard trials shape us into polished diamonds.

~ from A PRISON DIARY by Ho Chi Minh in AFTER SORROW by Lady Borton
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When you are gifted at something, you have to do it

When you love to do something, that means you have a gift for it. And when you are gifted at something, you have to do it. You don't have to quit your job and mortgage your house, but you do have to give your gift a careful look. If you don't pay attention to what you love, you could overlook your greatest gifts!

~ from LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE by Barbara Sher
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Yes there is more

The earth needs people who can say, "Yes there is more." Not just more in the way of knowledge or inventions or wisdom or revelations, but more compassion, more gentleness and sweetness, more caring, more love, more valuing of one another. That is your mission, and it is of the highest, for it is nothing other that the mission of manifesting the spirit of the Beloved in your life.

~ from THE CALL by David Spangler
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Our daily work

Give Thy blessing, we pray Thee, to our daily work, that we may do it in faith, and heartily.
~ by Thomas Arnold - l7th C.
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What is my work?

What is my work?

To let the mind fall silent
that I may hear the Invisible calling.

~ by Nikos Kazantzakis
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Thus do we know what we are to do

Our eyes are
the eyes of the universe
reflecting upon itself...

We look at the stars,
they look back at themselves
through us...

Lisen to the universe,
stir the deep memory ...
thus do we know
what we are to do.

~ by Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill work

Work is one of the great human gateways to the eternal

To have a firm persuasion in our work -- to feel that what we do is right for ourselves and good for the world at exactly the same time — is one of the great triumphs of human existence... To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have become while accomplishing the task... Work, at its best, is one of the great human gateways to the eternal and the timeless.

~ from CROSSING THE UNKNOWN SEA by David Whyte
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Knowing that our work is a blessing

Spiritual self-esteem is gained from knowing that our work is a contribution and a blessing. Then we perform for the love of God with no thought of personal recognition... When our motivatlon for work is valid, the work will be spontaneous and creative.

~ from RIGHT USEFULNESS by Thomas Hora
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Hands that moved in magical ways

Moses' motions were like a dancer's ... sliding, circling, turning — his movements finding balance and his eyes finding voice ... a bark of delight when he saw a true shot, a rasp of laughter as he found the right angle, the click of his tongue when he snapped the perfect picture.

And the camera which Novalee had thought old-fashioned and unwieldly, looked small and delicate in Moses' hands, hands that moved in magical ways, fingers that found their own rhythm and knew, without knowing, when is was right.

~ from WHERE THE HEART IS by Billie Letts
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The time of busyness

The time of busyness does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while serving persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees in prayer.

~ from THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD by Brother Lawrence
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Hands to work

Hands to work ...
Heart to God.

~ by Ann Lee
Ann Lee work

Find joy in your work

Find joy in your work ...
Discover fulfillment and peace ...
Silence will guide you on the way.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous work

The strain of tasks beyond our strength

In the face of the strain of tasks beyond our strength, we must turn inward to the Source of strength. If we measure our human strength against the work we see immediately ahead, we shall feel hopeless, and if we tackle it in that strength, we shall be frustrated... There is no healthier lesson we can learn than our own limitations, provided this is accompanied by the resignation of our own strength and reliance on the strength of God. The wheel of life will fly apart unless it is spoked to the Center ... wherever we go rushing onward without taking time to turn inward.

~ from SEEKING PEACE by Johann Christopher Arnold thanks to Steve Launer
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Thus do we know what we are to do

Our eyes are
the eyes of the universe
reflecting upon itself...

We look at the stars,
they look back at themselves
through us...

Lisen to the universe,
stir the deep memory ...
thus do we know
what we are to do.

July-August 2002

SUMMER BLESSINGS, dear friends! May your vacations, family gatherings, and rereation traveling be balanced with inward diving into the depths of silence and solitude. Re-creation and renewal, peace and harmony become summer fruits of this inner-outer balance. Thus are you true to yourself.

The difference between loneliness and solitude

It was from my experience in alternating work at the Red Cross and forest service that I began to learn the difference between loneliness and solitude. I now believe that loneliness occurs when our lives are somehow missing one-half of a pair of opposites — being and doing. We can be very busy and surrounded by people yet still feel intense loneliness because our lives are dominated by "doing;" there is insufficient time for attentive solitude with our thoughts and feeling. When your life is filled with too much doing, the only cure for loneliness is a strong dose of solitude, a form of solitude that is meditative and open to your inner self.

~ from BALANCING HEAVEN AND EARTH by Robert A. Johnson
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We are made for solitude

We are made for solitude. Our lives may be rich in relationships, but the human self remains a mystery of enfolded inwardness that no other person can possibly enter and know. If we fail to embrace our ultimate aloneness and seek meaning only in communion with others, we wither and die. The farther we travel toward the great mystery, the more at home we must be with our essential aloneness in order to stay healthy and whole. Our equal and opposite needs for solitude and community constitute a great paradox.

~ from THE COURAGE TO TEACH by Parker Palmer
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Solitude is an attitude

Solitude is an attitude, an attitude of gratitude. It is a state of mind, a state of heart, a whole universe unto itself.

~ from FOOD FOR SOLITIIDE by Francine Schiff
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Your solitude will bear immense fruit

Your solitude will bear immense fruit in the souls of men and women you will never see on earth.

~ from THE SEVEN STORY MOUNTAIN by Thomas Merton
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A silent, invisible spiritual concourse

Our image of solitude is often negative: withdrawal, isolation, distance from others. But this misrepresents the hermitage which is like a silent,invisible spiritual concourse; a place where many can converge without sinking into a crowd, and become a community of love. Every human heart is a hermitage, if we care to enter and find ourselves there in union with all. In solitude friend, foe, and stranger are equally known in love.

~ from WEB OF SILENCE bv Laurence Freeman
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Being alone

Being alone — physically alone atop a mountain — reminds me of how seldom one is alone in the sort of urbanized life we live nowadays. As I sat, there was a certain peace which I was able to capture for a moment. This physical aloneness is by no means the same as loneliness — not even close kin to it; for I was not alone. On occasions when I am able to get to a mountain top, the realization of the nature of the "mountain-top experience" returns anew.

~ from BALM IN GILEAD by Sara Lawrence Lightfoot
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In prayer we assume responsibility for injustice in our self and the world

We find the world at the heart of God. The deeper our prayer is, the deeper we enter into solidarity with a suffering world. In solitude this compassionate solidarity grows. In solitude we realize that the roots of all conflict, war, injustice, cruelty, hatred, jealousy, and envy are deeply anchored in our own hearts. Nothing human is alien to us either. In prayer we assume responsibility for injustice in our self and the world.

~from SPACE FOR GOD by Don Postema
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Nowhere to go, nothing to do

There is great value to be realized in periods of solitude and silence for those whose lives are in and of the world. Although I had gone into solitude for four days every year over the past twenty years, I needed a more sustained period of aloneness to recover the freshness of my spirit and to see that which was not true. "Nowhere to go, nothing to do" — these were the words that informed my days.

~ by Joan Halifax
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The necessary thing

The necessary thing is great, inner solitude.
What goes on inwardly is worthy of your love.

~ by Rainer Maria Rilke
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If silence and solitude were vacancy

The secret strength of things,
Which governs thought, and to the infinite dome
Of heaven is a law, inhabits thee!
And what were thou, and earth, and stars, and sea,
If to the human mind's imaginings
Silence and solitude were vacancy?

~ from "Mont Blanc" by Percy B. Shelley
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The point of passing time in solitude

The point of passing time in solitude is to strip yourself bare, to discover what is essential and true. When you are stripped down to this point, you see how little you amount to. But that little is what God is interested in.

~ from "The Music of Silence" by Phyllis Rose
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Solitude is necessary for your emotional health

Solitude is necessary for your emotional health, whether you are living alone or with another. Solitude gives you the time and space to integrate your experience. And all growth depends on integration. Without solitude,spiritual nourishment will be lacking. If you want a single cause for the amount of distress in the world, it is the fact that people do not take time to commune with self, nature and the divine. A spiritual life — a life free of needless tension and self-created suffering — requires such communion.

~ from THE SILENCE OF THE HEART by Paul Ferrini
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In solitude, the soul develops organs

Our homes will be very quiet at this time. But I have often found that the quieter my surroundings, the more vividly I sense my connection with you all. It's as if, in solitude, the soul develops organs of which we're hardly aware in everyday life.

~ from LOVE LETTERS FROM CELL 92 by Dietrich Bonhoeffer with thanks to Jane Storck
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Until I have been lured into the desert

Until I have been lured into the desert, until I have been brought in solitude to the very ground of my being, where I am beyond the grip of my surface self with all its plans and distractions, I am not able to hear the divine whisper. It is then I discover at the heart of things that my solitariness is transcended and that I am not alone.

~ by Douglas Steere
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Without silence there is no solitude

Without silence there is no solitude.
In solitude, you are open to loving service,
to abiding inner peace and joy.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous solitude

Discover your true self

 Discover your true self in creative solitude.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous solitude

Solitude is the empty space that we deliberately choose

Solitude is the empty space that we deliberately choose in order to be with the Beloved. In solitude we can savor this goodness and give ourselves space to really listen. It is when we are alone, uninterrupted, single-minded, and single-hearted, that some of the wonderful inner fruits come to the surface. If we want to learn how to grow spiritually, we will choose the discipline of solitude.

Our solitude helps us to "be" with God and gives meaning to our lives. It re-awakens us to the presence of God in every aspect of our lives.

~ from THE CUP OF OUR LIFE by Joyce Rupp
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June 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 6)

EVERY BLESSING, dear friends! As we enter into the summer season of fullness, may the music of our hearts become One in a symphony of souls united in the Silence. May we pause each day in the silence to listen to the deepest Song in our hearts ... then sing it in our actions and interactions in work and leisure.

In a sense great music exists for the sake of its pauses

In a sense great music exists for the sake of its pauses; for instance, the pauses that occur in the middle of a Beethoven symphony. These pauses are of course quite unlike bits of ordinary silence, because the whole symphony has led up to them — they are held and defined, and the music goes on the other side of them. Such pauses are silence charged with meaning. Music transcends music by producing charged silence.

~ from THE WISHING TREE by Christopher Isherwood
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Creation began with a big band

While I was writing about silence and explosíons and the moment, of creation, I made an ínteresting typing error. I wrote "big band"" instead of "big bang." I'd like to think that ít was not an error but the voice of creation typing for me.From now on that's my theory on the origin of everything. Creation began with a big band, and ever since there has been rhythm, style and beauty throughout the uníverse. Our job is to look and listen for the big song, and then to join in, following the beat established by the Conductor leading the big band.

~ from PRESCRIPTIONS FOR LIVING by Bernie S. Siegel
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Something about a song is nearly irresistible

Something about a song ia nearly irresistible in that it reaches both the mnd and the heart,the former with meaning, the latter with beauty. The Spírit found her way into my shut-off heart through the songs I learned through that very same heart.

~ from "Spirit's Songs" by Kay Collette
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My heart makes songs

It is my heart that makes songs, not I.

~ by Sara Teasdale
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Sing and your life will continue

Song is not a luxury, but a necessary way of being in the world. If you are cut off, in pain, estranged, numb — sing, give voice to anything. It needn't sound pretty. Simply, bravely, open despite the difficulty, and let what is in out, and what is out in. Sing and your life will continue.

~ from THE BOOK OF AWAKENING by Mark Nepo
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The voice of God whispers in the heart

The voice of God whispers in the heart
So softly
That the soul pauses,
Making no noise,
And strives for these melodies,
Distant, sighing, like the faintest breath,
And all the being is still to hear.

~ by Stephen Crane thanks to Peter Venable
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And then your heart breaks open?

The silence of the marsh was so profound that it could have been the flip side of the singing in my church. Just last Sunday the people had sung the old spiritual, "Go Down, Moses," a cappella because the pianist was gone, and a bunch of people were crying, singing very loudly with their eyes closed, and the singing of that cry of a song was a wonderful form of communion. How come you can hear a chord, and then another chord, and then your heart breaks open?

~ from TRAVELING MERCIES by Anne Lamott
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What is the song of my life?

Each of us is a new creation, a singularity, a facet of the glory of God, Love's presence made visible. "The greatest glory of God is a person fully alive." Everything in creation has íts own language, its own radiance, its gift to the universe. Dante's music of the spheres, the movement of the planets and stars in their orbíts, is an unrivaled symphony. And I am not a single note, sound, or chord -- I am a symphony of a lífetime. What is the song of my life, the inner music of my being, the background music whích softly accompanies me? Each thing has its own song and each sings it ín silence. What a chorus when each life song is blended into and harmonized with all the others!

~ from NO ONE ELSE CAN SING MY SONG by Edward J. Farrell
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The poet, the artist, the musician

The poet, the artist, the musician, continue the quiet work of centuries, building bridges of experience between people, reminding us of the universality of our feelings and desires and despairs, and reminding us that the forces that unite are deeper than those that divide.

~ by John F. Kennedy
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Her Beloved is silent music

In that nocturnal tranquility and silence and in knowledge of the divine light, the soul becomes aware of Wisdom's wonderful harmony and sequence in the variety of her creatures and works. Each of them is endowed wíth a certain likeness of God and in its own way gives voice to what of God is in it. So creatures will be for the soul a harmonious symphony of sublime music surpassing all concerts and melodies of the world. Thus there ís in it the sweetness of music and the quietude of silence. AccordÍngly, she says that her Beloved is silent music because in the Beloved she knows and enjoys this symphony of spiritual music.

~ from SPIRITUAL CANTICLE by John of the Cross thanks to Gav Grissom
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If I separated the religious goal from the musical one

I can't think of any way to explain the existence of art other than as a means to express something greater than ourselves. I can't reach a single musícal decision except wíth the goal of making a connectíon to God. If I separated the religious goal from the musical one, music would have no meaning for me.

~ by Sofia Gubaidulian
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The face of this singing nun would forever be unknown to us

They sang a capella: one voice began to mount like a skylark and detach itself from the rest, from those mingled voices which together sounded well, but from whose conjunction with this single one soared in an intensity of beauty — a voice so clear and just, yet vibrant with such warm sweetness, I have remembered it always. The fact that this great, this glorious and rare voice was singing behind bars, that the face and identity of this singing nun would forever be unknown to us, shadowed the music. Mainly, we were awed to think this treasure was so hidden.

~from TESSERAE by Denise Levertov
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Naught are yet but songs, and as ye sing, ye are

With a song came the Word and by music it is sustained, And the soul ... is a note of revelation. Naught are ye but songs, and as ye sing, ye are ...
~ from CRESCENT AND HEART BY Samuel L. Lewis
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Sing the Song of your life

How can you keep from singing the Song of your life? Make it LOVE!
~ Anonymous
Anonymous music

May your days be filled with merry music

May your days be filled with merry music;
May your life be filled with sacred songs!
May the Great Conductor lead you on ...
~ Anonymous
Anonymous music

I started dancing to the tune of a heavenly drummer

What happened next is difficult to put into words... A Spirit of adoration and celebration sprang up within me, and I started dancing to the tune of a heavenly drummer and singing words unknown to my conscious mind.I sang with my mind too — hymns and psalms springing up from distant memory as well as spiritual songs that cascaded down in impromptu splendor. Thanksgivings poured forth for all things great and small. Praises joined the river in joyous exaltation. It felt like I was being invited to join, in my feeble way, into the ceaseless paean of praise that ascends before the throne of God.
~ from PRAYER by Richard J. Foster
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May 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 5)

BLESSINGS, dear friends of the heart! The heart: where the Divine Guet awaits our listening silence. May we learn to dele ever more deeply into the contemplative Silence within that links our soul like a vertical beam of light to heaven and earth. Our lives beome more joyful, peaceful, and loving, increasing our reverence and honoring of ALL life.

Contemplating the Indwelling Presence

Contemplating the Indwelling Presence, you are given new eyes of faith, hope, and love to see God's grandeur bursting forth... All things cry out to you that God is here. This place is indeed holy! With eyes of a child filled with wonder and joy, you open to God's living revelation in all things. You believe nothing can keep out the loving, presence of God as love in all things. As you act on that living faith, it becomes a reality. Every moment with all your material involvements allows you to become more and more united with the Indwelling Presence of God, the triune community of I-Thou in a We of self-giving persons.

~ from THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE by George Maloney
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To live a contemplative life is to be open enough to see

To live a contemplative life is to be open enough to see, free enough to hear, real enough to respond. It is a life, and so it has its own rhythms of darkness, of dying-rising. Simply enough, it is a live of grateful receptivity, or wordless awe, of silent simplicity.

See www.jesuits.ca/orientations/deepercall.html

~ by S. Marie Beha
S. Marie Beha contemplation

Every age has a need of the contemplative life

Every age has a need of "the contemplative life," and ours is no exception to the rule. The soul needs a chance for spreading its wings, for looking beyond itself, beyond the immediate environment, and for quiet inner growth.
~ from THE RELIGIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS by James Bissett Pratt
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The contemplative is a seed of silence planted amidst the jungle of noise

The world has become noise, silence its orphan child. The contemplative is a seed of silence planted amidst the jungle of noise, one whose harvest will come at a later time, perhaps a later age. The contemplative is a witness to silence, affirming that all things come out of silence and must return to silence to be healed and re-created.

~ from WHY NOT BE A MYSTIC by Frank X. Tuoti
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Contemplative life does not have to be seen as a special vocation

Contemplative life does not have to be seen as a special vocation reserved for some special souls only; it is open to all, and all are invited to enjoy it. You do not have to be in special circumstances to practice it, because it consists not so much in what you do as in the attitude and the perspective in which your ordinary actions are performed. It is a life of wonder. The contemplative is one who look around at the world and marvels at reality. We are living as contemplatives when we are thoroughly alive ourselves and when we are alert and sensitive to the reality of other beings and disposed to appreciate them.

~ from "The Contemplative Life" in "The Roll" by Beatrice Bruteau -- June 1995
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Loving infusion of God

Contemplation is a secret, peaceful and loving infusion of God, which, if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the spirit of Love.
~ by St. John of the Cross
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Loving regard

If we are designed to be in communion with God, if God is our Lover, then we have to indulge in the things that lovers do. The lover wishes always to be in the loved one's presence, to gaze and behold. The name for this loving regard is contemplation. 

~ by Alan Jones
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Silent contemplation

In silent contemplation, the intellect is bypassed, and we are taken into a transcendent dimension understood only by the spirit. In silence our spirit will recognize the Beloved's Spirit.

See www.tentmaker.org/articles/TheFaceofChrist.html

~ by Marian Scheele
Marian Scheele contemplation

What is the contemplative life about?

The contemplative life is about
knowing, loving and listening
to all of life
and to God in it ...

~ Anonymous
Anonymous contemplation

Cultivating a listening heart

An attitude of contemplation helps us to see the quiet beauty that is all around us in the world, in the faces of the people in our lives or the way a cat stretches, as well as in the mundane tasks that take up so much of our time. We can begin to cultivate the "listening heart." This contemplative way of seeing, hearing, and feeling brings richness and depth of meaning to our lives. It allows us to know what is real and essential. It helps us move toward freedom and wholeness as we see more clearly into the truth of the moment.

~ from SEEDS OF AWAKENING by Molly Vass-Lehman
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A mountain is an image of the soul as it lifts itself up in contemplation

It seems to me that a mountain is an image of the soul as it lifts itself up in contemplation. For in the same manner as the mountain towers above the valleys and lowlands at its foot, so does the soul of the one who prays mount into the higher regions up to God like an eagle taking wing.

~ by Theodore of Studios, c. 835
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Contemplation is a vast space, open on all sides

It is significant that the Latin word "templum" originally meant a vast space, open on all sides, from which one could survey the whole surrounding landscape as far as the horizon. This is what is meant to CONTEMPLATE: to "set one's sights on" Heaven from the temple that defines the field of vision... The temple is the place, the organ of vision.

~ from TEMPLE AND CONTEMPLATION by Henry Corbin
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To be a contemplative

To be a contemplative we must become converted to the consciousness that makes us one with the universe, in time with the cosmic voice of God. We must become aware of the sacred in every element of life. We must bring beauty to birth in a poor and plastic world. We must grow in concert with the God who is within. We must restore the human community. We must be healers in a harsh society.

~ from ILLUMINATED LIFE by Joan Chittester
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Contemplation plumes her feathers

And Wisdom's self
Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude
Where, with her best nurse Contemplation,
She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings.

~ by John Milton
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Contemplative prayer is an exchange of hearts

Contemplative prayer is not a conversation in words, but an exchange of hearts.

~ by Thomas Keating
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Contemplative waiting is consenting to be where we really are

As the conversation turned to waiting, Brother Anthony leaned forward in his chair. "Contemplative waiting is consenting to be where we really are," he explained. "People recoil from it because they don't want to be present to themselves. Such waiting causes a deep existential loneliness to surface, a feeling of being disconnected from oneself and God. At the depths there is fear, fear of the dark chaos within ourselves.

Brother Anthony was exactly right. Ultimately, we are fleeing our own dark chaos. We are fleeing ourselves.

~ from WHEN THE HEART WAITS by Sue Monk Kidd
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April 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 4)

BLESSINGS, dear friends, as we enter another life-giving Springtime season of new blossomings bursting from the earth and, hopefully, arising in our hearts as well. In the silence of early April mornings, listen for the promise of winter's gestate seeds awakening. What flowers await birth in your inner soul garden? Be still ... in the silence, you will know.

The forgiveness, the peace, the intimacy of things with each other

In the early evening we see the stars begin to appear as the sun disappears over the horizon. The light of day gives way to the darkness of night. A stillness, a healing quiet comes over the landscape. It's a moment when some other world makes itself known, a numinous presence beyond human understanding. We experience the vast realms of space overwhelming the limitations of our human minds. As the sky turns golden and the clouds reflect the blazing colors of evening, we participate for a moment in the forgiveness, the peace, the intimacy of things with each other.

~ from "The Great Community of Earth" by Thomas Berry in "Earth Letter" -- September 2001
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I am aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows

I, the fiery life of divine essence, am aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows. I gleam in the waters. I burn in the sun, moon, and stars. With every breeze, as with invisible life that contains everything, I awaken everything to life. I am the breeze that nurtures all things green. I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits. I am the rain coming from the dew that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.
~ by Hildegard of Bingen
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The solitary globe of night

The solitary globe of night
pours out its calm and clear light
in the midst of the silence and
contemplation of nature.

~ by Camille Flammarion
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How glorious is Your dwelling place

How glorious is Your dwelling place,
O Loving Creator of the universe!

~ Anonymous
Anonymous nature

I found a comfortable spot under a tree

I found a comfortable spot under a tree, far from the bees, and I closed my eyes. My mind cleared. All my fears, anger, and frustration fell away. A sudden calmness pervaded me and I felt in total harmony with my surroundings. No longer compelled to fight the perceived obstacles and dangers, I recognized a very natural and constant order. I had a tremendous realization that there was a natural harmony here in the mountains, and everywhere, and that for the first time in my life I felt that I was truly a part of God's universe.
~ from "A Natural Revelation" by Henry Stark in "Sacred Journey" June 1998
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The earth does not belong to us

The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls all who dwell on earth. We did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
~ by Chief Seattle
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To look at nature as a part of myself

The three months of solitude were of the greatest significance for me. I came away from them very much strengthened — ready to share my insights with people who were interested in hearing them. Still today, I have the sounds of the jungle in my ears: the cries of the monkeys and birds and the wind rushing through the banana leaves. But there were also times of utter silence, at dawn and twilight. I took walks in the jungle in order to look at nature as a part of myself.

~ from I GIVE YOU MY LIFE by Ayya Khema
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What did you find in the fields today

What did you find in the fields today,
you who have wandered so far away?

I found a wind-flower, small and frail,
and a crocus cup like a holy grail;
I found a hill that was clad in gorse,
a new-built nest, and a streamlet's source;
I saw a star and a moonlit tree;
I listened... I think God spoke to me.

~ by Hilda Rostron
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The old tree of eternal creative life

The old tree of eternal creative life lives
with an open heart, very deep roots,
and many branches waiting to
transform into new life.

~ by Richard Bachtold
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You living garden

You set before me the book of Nature; and I understood how all the flowers created by You are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, Nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers... It is the same in the world of souls, Your living garden.

~ by Therese of Lisieux
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The secret of secrets

Sunset in the ethereal waves:
I cannot tell if the day
is ending, or the world, or if
the secret of secrets is inside me again.

~ by Anna Akhmatova
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Faced with the job of healing the planet

All universal truths are available to us. All universal knowledge. Nothing is withheld. Our soul has a limitless capacity to enfold and know all. This is part of the dynamic of the soul. We are faced with the job of healing the planet, healing it from the multitude of messes we have created. The only way this can happen is for people to change their attitudes toward nature As we each open to the broader reality of nature, our attitudes will automatically shift, and how we treat our immediate environment will alter to accommodate those shifts in attitude. We will live our lives differently. We will have different motivations for what we do. We will become active co-creative partners in life. We will behave as if the God of ALL life mattered.

~ by Machaella Small Wright
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Earth as living poetry

The earth is not a mere fragment of dead history, a stratum upon stratum like the leaves of a book, to be studied by biologists and antiquarians chiefly, but living poetry like the leaves of a tree, which precede flowers and fruit — not a fossil earth but a living earth.

~ by Henry David Thoreau
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Saint de Terre

In the Middle Ages saunterers were considered saint de terre as they wandered the countryside.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous nature

In all of nature

In all of nature there can be nothing more expressive than silence.

~ by John Hay
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We as a people are only now beginning to learn to read the language of the earth once more

We as a people are only now beginning to learn to read the language of the earth once more. We are beginning to see what our actions create. Since the beginning there have been those who have listened to the earth's song. We are a note in the discord or the harmony of this world. The way we walk is the way it becomes. Speak in anger and anger will come to you, speak with caring and love and these too shall be drawn to you. Our choices in action are sacred. To choose to work our way through our emotions and actions in a good way can be a most sacred act. Each action affects all others.

~ from SWEETWATER WISDOM by Wendy Crockett
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March 2002 (Vol. XV, No. 3)

WARM GREETINGS, dear friends, as we continue to journey together united in the Silence. Blessed are you who have a friend or two with whom you can commune in silene, share and reverence one another's deepest heart-song, and call each other to be faithful to its inner truth ... a beneficial way to remain faithful to the Call of the Beloved.

Faith doesn't mean that you never doubt

When Sarah gathered herself together enough to speak without weeping, she had to ask:

"How did you know my most terrible secret? Is my lack of faith in God so obvious?"

"My lady, I assumed that you would have such thoughts simply because any human being in your position would HAVE to have them. You give no outward sign of it. And it is not lack of faith. You can't stop thoughts like that from entering your head. Faith doesn't mean that you never doubt. Faith only means that you never act upon your doubts."

~ from SARAH by Orson Scott Card
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